The amount of the checks and number of recipients was first announced in June of last year, but are just now making their way to homeowners.

How much borrowers received was based on how many applied for the money. Based on the number of eligible borrowers, it was initially thought just $850 would be awarded.

In Florida, about 53 percent of the 167,400 borrowers who were mailed letters applied. Nationwide, 55 percent of the more than 1.7 million borrowers applied.

But ultimately, not all borrowers met eligibility requirements, which included that the home foreclosed on was a primary residence.

Some consumer advocates have questioned the $1,480 payments, saying they are an admission of the fraud committed by the banks and do little to offset the loss of a home taken in a challengeable foreclosure.

“These checks are a joke,” said South Florida real estate attorney Roy Oppenheim last year. “If homeowners sued the banks for the fraud, forgery and perjury they committed, they could be getting more.”